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#1 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Acknowledged by many as the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, Gianluigi Buffon has been paying at the highest level for almost 22 years. One of the faithful servants of Juventus football club, Buffon has made 858 appearances in Serie A and 175 for the Italy national team.
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In the 2016/17 campaign, Buffon won the Serie A and Coppa Italia with Juventus, in addition to finishing runners-up in the UEFA Champions League. Even at the age of 39, Buffon has produced some acrobatic dives for Juventus this season and has been an outstanding shot-stopper throughout his illustrious career with the ability to read the game perfectly.
He was unlucky not to win it in the past, but has a real chance of beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi this time. He is one of the most deserving players in the 30-man shortlist, and will feel really hard done if he misses out on Thursday.
